How severe is GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8?

No CVSS score has been assigned to GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8?

GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 affects the following packages: github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3 (Go), github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3 (Go), github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2 (Go), github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8?

Update github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3 to 3.5.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 was published on May 19, 2026 and was last updated on June 25, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹 Go

GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8

Kong Ingress Controller for Kubernetes (KIC): Cross-namespace TLS Secret Exfiltration in Gateways with GatewayClass missing `konghq.com/gatewayclass-unmanaged: 'true'` annotation

Also known asGO-2026-5485

Published

May 19, 2026

Updated

Jun 25, 2026

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

2 / 4

Exploits

None indexed

Blast Radius

4 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3🐹github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3🐹github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2🐹github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Summary

A vulnerability in the Kong Ingress Controller (KIC) allows for the unauthorized exfiltration of TLS certificates and private keys across Kubernetes namespace boundaries. In "managed" mode (where the GatewayClass lacks an unmanaged annotation), the Gateway TLS translator skips critical status checks. This bypass allows the translator to fetch Secrets from any namespace KIC watches, even when a ReferenceGrant explicitly denies access or is missing.

An actor with RBAC permissions to create or modify Gateways in a low-privileged namespace can reference a Secret in a high-privileged namespace, causing KIC to "leak" that Secret's sensitive private key material into the Kong dataplane configuration.

Am I affected?

You are affected if all of these hold:

You are using Kong Ingress Controller with the Gateway API.
Your GatewayClass is operating in managed mode (default behavior, no unmanaged annotation).
KIC is configured to watch multiple namespaces (multi-tenant environment).
Users have RBAC permissions to create or update gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io in their own namespaces.

You are not affected if any of this:

You only use KIC for Ingress resources (not Gateway API).
Your GatewayClass uses the konghq.com/gateway-unmanaged annotation.
KIC is restricted via RBAC or configuration to only watch a single namespace.
You have strictly limited Gateway creation/modification permissions to trusted cluster administrators only.

Mitigation

Add unmanaged gateway annotation: add the konghq.com/gateway-unmanaged annotation to your GatewayClass

Additional best practicies

Restrict Gateway RBAC: Limit the ability to create or modify Gateway resources to high-trust administrative users until a patch is applied.
Namespace Isolation: If possible, limit the namespaces KIC is permitted to watch using the WATCH_NAMESPACE environment variable or specific RBAC RoleBindings.

Fix

The fix mandates ReferenceGrant validation for all cross-namespace certificate references. By requiring a Programmed: True listener status, the translator now strictly authorizes external Secret access while maintaining default access for same-namespace certificates, effectively closing the exfiltration vector.

Fixed in #7920, with backports to supported release branches in #7921 and #7922.

Upgrade to one of the following patched versions (or later):

3.4.14
3.5.7

CVSS

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N/E:P = 5.6 Medium

Affected Packages

4 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3`	≥ 3.5.0&&< 3.5.7	3.5.7
🐹Go	`github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3`	all versions	3.4.14
🐹Go	`github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2`	all versions	No fix
🐹Go	`github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller`	all versions	No fix

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3 to 3.5.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

## Summary A vulnerability in the Kong Ingress Controller (KIC) allows for the unauthorized exfiltration of TLS certificates and private keys across Kubernetes namespace boundaries. In "managed" mode (where the `GatewayClass` lacks an unmanaged annotation), the Gateway TLS translator skips critical status checks. This bypass allows the translator to fetch Secrets from any namespace KIC watches, even when a `ReferenceGrant` explicitly denies access or is missing. An actor with RBAC permissions to create or modify Gateways in a low-privileged namespace can reference a Secret in a high-privileg

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works